Creating Video Lessons

The younger your students are, the shorter the video should be. Ideally, an instructional video should be between 3 to 5 minutes at the most, for learners of all ages. Research shows that after 6 minutes, the learner's engagement starts to drop. It is therefore very important to chunk instructions and keep a video to one concept, task, etc. Having a few short videos for a lesson with activities in between is better than a long video that covers many elements followed by a longer assignment.

• Target the smallest possible element you can focus on. 

• Add visual cues (bigger text, colourful boxes, highlighted sections, etc.).

  • Use images to support ideas.

  • Minimize the amount of text on screen.

  • Less is more in this case.

• Audio and visual elements should be complementary rather than repetitive.

Using Powerpoint or Google Slides can help you organize your ideas, but make sure there is more clear/empty space than text on each slide.

No need to act! Be the same happy enthusiastic teacher your students got to know over the school year. They will be glad to reconnect with their teacher. It is not meant to be professional looking; students just need to feel that they are reconnecting with YOU!

In the most engaging instructional videos, presenters use a natural, enthusiastic and conversational tone.

Creating a plan is strongly recommended. You may want to storyboard your video.

A great way to start is:

• to use a slide presentation tool to organize your thoughts as they can be rearranged as needed.

• to annotate your slides by adding information about linking to an online demonstration or including a text excerpt. 

You may want to have a script as a starting point, but not to be read, just to have general overview of what will be covered in your video. That may help you realize that you need to break down the concept in smaller pieces or that other parts would need to be addressed separately. 

It is messy, we all make mistakes, even when we are used to it. Remember, even in the classroom we can stumble on a word, have a memory blank or have to repeat something because we feel it was not well explained. It does not need to be perfect. You will get there with trial and error. Students will appreciate if and when your personality comes through.

There are various recording tools that will allow you to record a combination of the following:  the screen, your voice, your image.

1. Chrome Extension - Screencastify or Loom allow to record for free up to 5 minutes and saves the recording in your Google Drive. It is a great tool to make sure you do not go over 5 minutes.

2. Device recording - SnagIt on PC, QuickTime on MacBook, Recorder on iPad.

3. Mobile device to record yourself.

Sound:

1. Using a headset with a built-in microphone, although not necessary, will give better sound quality result.

2. If you are in a room that has a lot of echo or surrounding noises, chances are it will be even more obvious in the recording.

Things to keep in mind when filming yourself:

1. Background:

   • When filming yourself, aim for a plain backdrop. Your bookshelf or yard may be pretty, but may be distracting to the viewer and/or reveal personal information you may want to keep private.

2. Clothing:

   • As it goes for your background, you may want to ensure that you’re wearing clothes that aren’t too flashy or too busy. It may make you look like a happy person when seeing someone face to face, but on video, it may have an undesired effect. 

3. Lighting:

   • Good lighting is critical, it may change the general feel of the video. Turning on the lights even during the day, may be necessary. Also, if you sit in front of a window and are backlit, the viewers will mostly only see a shadow of you.

• Include a guiding question, but also ask a few questions throughout and pause (a few seconds) to let students think for themselves.

• Plan for students to share their reactions and questions to the video. It could be within a Google Form or directly as a post within Google Classroom.

• You can ask them to write down important piece of information and model note-taking at the same time.

In order to safely share your instructional videos, we suggest you save them in your Google Drive and post them in Google Classroom.

Alternatively, you could also share your videos with your Teams groups. 

If you decide to post your videos to YouTube, please use your EMSB account, and keep all the content within your channel for professional purposes only. You should also select "made for kids" when uploading your videos. More information about "made for kids" content. 

*Note that according to YouTube's Terms of Service, "You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service" and "If you are under 18, you represent that you have your parent or guardian’s permission to use the Service." Something to keep in mind depending on the age of your students. 

**Note that if any of your students (ex.: from home group calls) or students' work are featured in your videos, you will need their parents permission to share them online.